The Kano State candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just-concluded governorship poll, Mr Abba Yusuf, said on Monday that he would challenge the victory of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the election petitions tribunal.
Yusuf rejected the declaration of Ganduje as the winner of the election on the grounds that the supplementary poll held on Saturday was marred by violence in many polling units.
“In the political history of Kano, we have undergone the most horrific election ever, where the ruling APC and the Kano State Government deployed all mechanisms to orchestrate violence against the citizens.
“Indeed, the good people of Kano State have witnessed a broad daylight robbery of their mandate by the enemies of democracy,” Yusuf said.
He said he had joined the governorship race believing that INEC would be impartial, while security agencies would guarantee the safety of all participants.
Yusuf, however, noted that he was shocked by what he saw on March 9 and March 23 when voting was disrupted in many polling units.
In the final results declared by the State Returning Officer, Prof. Bello Shehu, on Sunday, Ganduje scored 1,033,695 votes to win the election, while Yusuf came second with 1,024,713 votes.
Yusuf on Monday said he was disappointed that top police officers deployed in the state watched as acts of lawlessness took place only to appear publicly to say that the process was peaceful.
He added, “We condemn this fraud in its entirety. We have decided to take a legal action through the Election Petitions Tribunal with overwhelming evidence that has been gathered, and Insha Allah, the mandate of the good people of Kano State shall be reclaimed.”
Meanwhile, a coalition of observers accredited by INEC on Monday declared the poll as “successful,” commending INEC for doing a good job.
Although, the observers admitted that there were reported cases of violence in the state, they concluded that “the overall political climate in the entire state during the rerun remained largely peaceful and conducive for the conduct of democratic elections.
A total of 20 observer organisations accredited by INEC gave the position in Kano on Monday.
